Quantum Entanglement, sequel to Nanite Entanglement
by linda.ljc
Summary: The exiles on Atlantis discover they have options as they explore their nanite entanglement.


**Title: Quantum Entanglement **

** Sequel to Nanite Entanglement**

**Author: lindaljc**

**Summary:** The exiles on Atlantis discover they have options as they explore their nanite entanglement.

**A/N1:** _I love Einstein's quote "spooky actions at a distance" and... I did things with it... very strange, unnatural things that are totally without scientific merit. I am sure he would not approve_.

**A/N2: **Don't believe for a minute that anything I say about quantum mechanics, superposition, entanglement, Einstein, Schrödinger, or even his cat can be taken as actual science. I don't understand even the "simple" explanation of quantum entanglement. Erwin Schrödinger is the one who came up with the word "entanglement". Yes, he's the Schrödinger of the dead/alive cat thought experiment (in which no cats were harmed).

**Category:** Team, Sheppard, McKay, Emmagen, Dex, Weir, real Carson, Lorne, Radek, Chuck, Bates, also General O'Neill, General Landry, Colonel Samantha Carter, Angst, Drama, Action/Adventure, Atlantis AI, Quarantined from Earth

**Warning:** Gen, Drama, Humor, Nanites not Replicators, Bad words that everyone's heard if not said.

**Disclaimer:** The characters and settings of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate: Atlantis belongs to Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corporation. All other publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of Stargate: SG-1 and Stargate: Atlantis or any other media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

_This story was written by lindaljc with the love of the show in mind._

...

The return to Atlantis after dealing with the people that had brutally butchered AR-6, and tried to poison AR-1 was solemn. Most of the mourners that had gone to the planet to leave the memorial stone wondered just what their future would hold now that they were on their own. They were mourning not just four members of their small community, but the loss of Earth. The stone carried not only the images of those lost, but the symbol for Earth, which had appeared only on the Atlantis Gate in the Pegasus Galaxy. But it didn't really matter. They were agreed. Leaving that symbol as "their" mark declared for all that knew it's significance that: WE ARE STILL OF EARTH THOUGH YOU DENY US.

Earth had "blacklisted" them for being contaminated with nanites. They were considered "compromised" and therefore could never be trusted again, as if they were Replicators, and there wasn't much they could do about it. If they tried to go to Earth they would have had to fight their own people. At least, they still felt like they were their own people. But being disowned had a sobering effect, and left many people angry. They'd never see their families again if Earth didn't change their stand, and no one thought they would.

When the people of Atlantis had seen AR-1 return either already dead or nearly so from the mission to rescue AR-6, they'd had to watch the team be swarmed and revived by Atlantis' nanites to prevent their deaths. At the time they'd been as alarmed as Earth had been after their report was sent to the SGC. As alarmed as even Sheppard's own team was when they saw the security tape.

Elizabeth Weir had been horrified and would have probably tried to banish them herself if they didn't take themselves to the mainland for a "time out". But she finally came to her senses: when she realized it truly hadn't been their choice; that the Atlantis AI had been the one that had chosen this course all on her own; and when the rest of the Expedition accepted that Sheppard and his team were not at fault and wanted them back. Without Earth, they couldn't afford to lose AR-1.

The city had chosen to save their lives rather than deny them the repairs the nanites could do. And no matter what else they could have done, no matter how they had chosen to handle it, Earth had made the final, irrevocable decision and taken it completely out of their hands.

Atlantis and her people would now stand on their own. Live or die by their efforts. It was a sobering realization even for Dr. Weir, who had hoped to advance the Expedition to colony status eventually. The problem was that... eventually... had come too soon, long before they were ready. So now came the long fight for survival. Many were afraid that survival would be impossible without Atlantis' help since they were to be denied help from Earth. But how far would the Expedition members go in "accepting" Atlantis' "help"?

Sheppard's team were the only known members of the Expedition, now Colony, that had acknowledged that they still had nanites in their bodies, gifted by Atlantis itself to save their lives... and keep them alive... after that failed mission. It was something that could never be denied since it had to be so swiftly and publicly done. It was that, or the whole team would have been lost in a matter of moments.

They had eventually revealed that Atlantis had aided others of the colony secretly and had made nanite repairs at various times, but none were contaminated, or as Earth put it... compromised... with them still, since Atlantis had recalled them after the repairs were complete, and hadn't bestowed any of her gifts on them. But the names of those "physically repaired" were never to be revealed unless everyone that decided to remain with the Colony accepted the nanite gifts. But anyone that had ever been badly injured had to wonder if they were on that list. Had they already benefited from Atlantis' nanites and were the better for it?

There were several that refused the gift outright, but still remained on the city for now. For personal reasons they could not accept it, and they were not to be forced to do more than they found acceptable, and they were still undecided whether they would leave for somewhere else in Pegasus. If most accepted, Atlantis would allow them to stay. And maybe, if Atlantis' so-far-secret plans for the future were accepted, by the Expedition and by Earth, maybe those that had held out would soon decide to accept anyway simply because THEY WERE ALL ONCE OF EARTH, a kind of "one for all, all for one" attitude. They simply needed each other. They didn't just "know" each other, they depended on each other. They just needed to admit it to themselves. But the late-comers to the city had come with every intention to return to Earth: to careers, to family, to home.

But while some still doubted, many of the others were accepting, some appeared even eager, to receive the gifts as explained by Sheppard's team because the ATA gene was part of the package, with mild telepathy between Atlanteans themselves and the city AI also among the gifts they received. That made some people very happy. Others were squeamish at the very thought, even though they'd seen the benefits when those with only a natural ATA gene could make some slight connection with Atlantis. And the connection between the members of Sheppard's team had obviously made them even closer than they'd been before.

But when most received the gift, the telepathy was really not that developed. It was more like empathy in most. But it appeared to be a bit stronger in the natural and recessive gene carriers. The advantages proved beneficial in many ways: improving understanding among the Colonists, their allies, and their enemies. Warning of evil deeds that were being planned against them proved too advantageous to deny and risk lives needlessly. Those that accepted the gift from Atlantis, were often so joyous that others soon accepted, too. Even Elizabeth Weir had accepted the gift after her talk with the team that had been sequestered voluntarily on the mainland.

Atlantis had risked everything by offering the gift, but she wasn't as free with her gift as she could have been. The leaders of the city knew that more and stronger gifts could have been given, but privacy concerns were more important to these Expedition members than they were to the Alterans that came before them. It was one thing to offer a gift that offered protection, like the Wraith feeding-hand shields that could be biologically formed at will within their own bodies by the nanites, the ability to sense emotions that would give warning, and the nearly miraculous repair of deadly injuries. These abilities were seen as acceptable, beneficial gifts. But the ability to pluck someone's thoughts from their mind willing or not was a step too far, which the city accepted since an increased connection with Atlantis was her main concern, and these gifts provided that, and those were gifts nearly all the community wanted.

When Radek received his gift, the first one after Sheppard's team, his obvious joy was a relief and an encouragement. He touched Atlantis, much like John Sheppard had from the beginning. And he could fly a Jumper now, initialize systems, open so many doors that had been closed, literally, to him. These were all gifts bestowed by nanite changes in their bodies, and needed no nanites to keep residence.

So much was offered, and Atlantis requested only that they become citizens. It was not an easy, or a simple request though. For one thing, they lost Earth, any contact with their families, and a future much different than they'd envisioned for themselves. But that decision was made by Earth. That too, was not their choice but they had no recourse.

But most important to Atlantis, they would commit to defend the city. But they did that anyway. And who knew what the future would hold? The last of the Alterans numbered barely more than a hundred, so it was not really a surprise that they had decided to flee to Earth against such overwhelming odds. And it actually gave the colonists hope, that they might be able to accomplish what the Alterans couldn't since their own numbers were greater. Or at least die trying. Because they had no where to flee, except possibly some other planet in Pegasus, and without Atlantis, there wasn't much future in that even if they could survive on their own and avoid cullings by the Wraith.

...

"I'm so sorry I doubted you. I hope you truly can forgive me." Those were Elizabeth's first words after receiving the gift, and they were spoken to Sheppard's team.

They all glanced at each other and John said, "You can read us if you want, Elizabeth. It's one of the gifts."

"You're too forgiving. The way I treated you..."

Teyla stepped forward to give the Athosian greeting. When she leaned back she smiled warmly. "Do you think our own reactions would have been much different if we had been in your place?" Teyla looked distressed as she tried to continue. "After we were repaired, Ronon and I were..."

Ronon snorted. "We panicked. Sheppard and McKay had had some contact with Atlantis so they were doing better, but it took a while for us to calm down, and accept the gift. We really had no other choice. We would all have died otherwise or been seriously impaired and probably have died an early miserable death if we had rejected them. The nanites still keep us alive and in good health. It took us a while to decide that it really was a gift."

Teyla continued from there. "Atlantis was very understanding of our hesitation. She knew we would be against this... invasion of our bodies against our will. She left us with her basic message and left us alone to work it out among ourselves." She smiled. "We heard about your concern that we were so silent in the infirmary during our exams. John and Rodney both were trying their best to explain, and calm us. They realized just how serious this step was for us. For everyone else. For Earth. Atlantis wanted us to be sure that we understood, too, that she did it save our lives."

"I guess we have plans to make. Atlantis has plans she hasn't revealed yet, am I right?" questioned Elizabeth.

Sheppard sighed. "I don't think she intends to remain separate from Earth. It was her home. Her outpost is still there, and if Earth wants it to operate, then I think things will have to change on their end. They need it for defense but their ZPM won't last long. We may never be welcomed, but she won't let them shut us out. We just don't know how she intends to accomplish it."

Rodney looked distracted. "These nanites have changed us. I don't think we'd count as _human_ any more. Maybe Carson could explain it better than I can. We're more like, but less, than Alteran. It might have been better if Earth sensors could at least tell if we're no longer like Earth humans. If there was a way for them to "know" that we're not hiding in plain sight, but that's not going to happen because Carson and his team already tried and couldn't detect the nanites. They're that well integrated in our bodies. But the important thing is that we can accomplish so much more than humans even without the more advanced changes."

"What are you suggesting, Rodney?"

"The nanites can enhance quantum entanglement. I need to study the implications before I say more." He grinned. "But the possibilities are exciting."

Elizabeth smiled. "When you say something is exciting, I know I'll be amazed. I can hardly wait for your report. By the way, I wanted to ask about the Wraith feeding-hand shield. How is that going to work? Atlantis says we can form it at will now, in our own bodies with the nanites we've retained."

Ronon grinned evilly. "I tried it already. It forms as Atlantis said it would. Now I want to try it out against Wraith. I think everybody should practice forming it before they need it anyway."

Rodney nodded. "I don't blame you. I think it's going to be extremely important to our future survival. The Alterans didn't attempt anything like that. They depended on their personal shields, their technology. Once the nanites "did their thing" by changing their bodies, they were recalled unless someone was too damaged to live. But once the Wraith discover we have it, they'll come after us. Try to wipe us out like the Hoffans, with their "cure" that killed half of them and the Wraith still hunted down the rest. So, it'll be a lifesaver, but how much are we going to anger them when they discover we have this new ability? And Atlantis can give it to any new citizens."

Ronon sat back and crossed his arms and smiled wider. "Don't care if it'll keep them from killing us, and if we kill them before they can get away, well, the longer the secret is kept, the better it will be."

Sheppard smirked. "I like that thought." He stared hard at Ronon. Something passed between them.

"No! Not going to happen!" Ronon looked stubborn.

"We need better weapons. Rodney's going to take your blaster apart and study it and make us all new weapons. Maybe he can even improve on it."

Ronon looked petulant and crossed his arms. But everyone could see when he relented. "Okay, okay." And he slid the blaster across the table to a terrified Rodney McKay.

"The safety better be on that thing!" he snapped as he caught it carefully.

Ronon smirked. "What safety?"

"What!"

Ronon grinned.

"You're pulling my leg, right?"

"Strange expression, but, yeah." Ronon sighed in resignation, but added sharply. "I want it back in the shape I gave it to you."

Rodney sighed deeply. Then smirked. "Maybe it'll be better."

Sheppard asked, "Are you two done? What I wanted to say is that I was considering that the model for the Wraith feeding-hand shield that McKay and Radek were working on before this little "upgrade" that Atlantis gave us might go over well with our allies. The prototype* that you made kept McKay alive after a Wraith attack. I know it will take a lot of work and resources, but if we can manufacture those tech shields it could help our allies a lot, even if they can only outfit their defenders."

Teyla hesitated briefly. "Dr. Beckett, you and your people have been most generous in treating the ill. I – I was wondering if Atlantis' nanites can be used somehow to help treat those for whom all hope is lost. The very young and the very old are the most vulnerable, but even the adults can receive dangerous injuries."

Carson seemed to look inward for a long moment. Everyone knew he was requesting guidance from Atlantis. He then seemed to think furiously of a plan of his own. "Teyla, lass, that was an excellent suggestion. Atlantis is willing, but we can't be spreading the nanites through the whole galaxy. She has to keep control, close to home, so to speak. But she's trying to design a way to transfer healing nanites, programmed only to repair and return to the fold, in a type of clinic setting. Like an Alpha or Beta site, but use one of her old outposts."

Everyone was ecstatic at this possibility. And those that came to them for help that Atlantians could "read" might be offered further benefits, even up to citizenship, if they were accepted by Atlantis herself.

The Sheppard dragged them back to the hard stuff by reminding them that all was not easy even on Atlantis. "But what I really need to know before we start on a project like that, McKay, what can we do to shore up Atlantis?"

Rodney's smile faded a little, but then he just said earnestly, "Dagan."

Now Sheppard grinned. "We can find the ZPM now, right?"

"Yeah."

Elizabeth hadn't grinned in a long time. She took a deep breath as she stared at the table. When she looked up she looked more relaxed than they'd seen her in a long time. "I think that decides our next mission... Dagan. Two teams?"

Rodney chuckled. "Yeah, they probably buried it again. More hands and all that."

Sheppard sighed. "Tomorrow. We'll take AR-3. I want Lorne here, just in case."

Everyone else chimed in, "Tomorrow."

...

The Gate opened on a beautiful Dagan day, and the two teams settled in a circle and sent out their senses on search. It took only a few minutes for them all to turn in the same direction.

Sheppard spoke softly. "I want to avoid everyone here if we can. Keep your senses open. If we can dig it up without them knowing, it'll save a lot of unpleasantness. And there's no reason to stir up a hornet's nest if we can help it. Besides, it'll be a good test of our abilities away from Atlantis' help."

They skirted the village and the temple residents easily enough. The temple priests were near the site they had located, perhaps to keep a close eye on the site. But they decided to wait for the noon meal, when most were inside. Digging it up was going to take a while, as they'd put it in a cave and collapsed the opening this time, and they wouldn't be surprised if they'd probably booby-trapped it, too.

Sheppard and the others were eager to begin but Rodney waved them off. "Wait. Let me try something." Fierce concentration was all they could see, then Rodney's image faded but he didn't disappear. Then the image solidified and Rodney had the ZPM in his hands."

Everyone was as shocked as Sheppard. "What the hell was _that_?"

"I had a talk with Atlantis late into the night and I quizzed her about Einstein and his "spooky action at a distance" comment and Schrödinger's explanation."

Sheppard looked at McKay like he was crazy. "Einstein?"

"Yup. Einstein was trying to describe part of the theory of relativity but even he wasn't convinced of his own interpretation. But he was right. Atlantis said so." He held up the ZPM. "And here's the proof. I was in two places at once... quantum entanglement*."

"That doesn't help explain anything. And wasn't Schrödinger, the cat theory guy?"

"Yes, yes, yes. Look, I'll explain it all later. Or you can ask Atlantis yourself. We've got it, the ZPM, so let's get out of here. And we didn't have to dig it out so they'll never know it's gone."

Sheppard still looked worried. "You're not going to fade out again are you?"

"Well, no! Of course not. Unless I want to. Or need to. Oh, the possibilities!"

"McKay, at least warn me next time. Come on. Let's get back to Atlantis."

…

The ZPM was well received. Atlantis had plans and this was going to accelerate the timetable. She wanted more power. She needed it if she was going to protect her citizens. Surprisingly, the first project was the Atlantis intranet. Miko called it the Atlantis-Wiki™. Everything anyone needed to know or things people learned and reported was available for their use, even Alteran research. Framing the question was the hardest part.

McKay dove in "headfirst" and didn't come up except to eat, for days. Another little "gift" from Atlantis was that they needed little sleep, but calorie consumption increased because of it. The mess hall staff was getting worried, because everyone was taking advantage of the extra time and the mess hall was fast running out of food.

Ronon was the one to ask the question of the Atlantis-Wiki™. /Where and when was food available that they didn't have to trade for?/ And the Wiki had the answer: timetables of different unpopulated planets that had edible harvests during the varied seasons of all those planets that could be accessed through the Gate.

Sheppard was amazed. "How did you even think to ask?"

Ronon shrugged deprecatingly. "I went where I had to when I was running from the Wraith. I took note of where I could find fruits and nuts and game, but with changing seasons it was hard to keep track of when, and where. I figured Atlantis would know."

McKay asked wistfully, "Did you ask about coffee?"

"Did you?"

McKay's eyes lit up. "Be right back." Coffee was a no, but surprisingly chocolate was located. It was a definite morale booster when the first brownies came out of the oven. And hot chocolate night became a very popular thing.

…

Slowly Atlantis released the location and the steps to make ZPMs. It was a long process, and everything had to be perfect. She wouldn't risk one wrong step, which Rodney surprisingly had no problem with. But eventually the first ZPM in ten thousand years was produced in a factory off world. A very secret factory whose location was known only to the Command Staff. Not even Chuck knew. When they needed to go there they just let Atlantis know and she somehow dialed an address that wasn't visible on the Gate. But now plans could move forward even more swiftly.

...

McKay's "trick" of fading and being in two places at once became something of a game. Everybody was trying it, sometimes to humorous effect, sometimes it almost caused accidents. But would it come in handy off world? They tried it off world, when they went to harvest produce. But they didn't want Pegagsus' people to be afraid of ghosts or demons and associate it with the Atlantis Tau'ri so they kept their experiments to unpopulated planets for now. They also wanted to be sure there wouldn't be any surprises or side effects of splitting into two halves.

They were planning a different trial, too, but it was a scary proposition. They thought they might be able to go off world without actually leaving Atlantis, at least half-of-someone was going to try when they got Atlantis' approval. Rodney was frustrated with the wait. He was almost certain it would work, and if it did it would make everyone happy that they could perhaps spy on Wraith, because who cared if "they" were afraid of ghosts and such. And their other senses could give warning if they got too physically close to a Wraith or someone else.

But it wasn't long before a group came to a meeting of the Command Staff with a request for another real world use of this "trick" that became obvious once requested, but was an even more risky proposition.

"Can we go to Earth? Can we see our families?"

Elizabeth and John had questions that maybe McKay could answer. They needed some solid research before that kind of trip was attempted. First, could they go that far? From Atlantis to another planet hadn't even been tried yet, but another galaxy? Second, should they? This could blow declassification high and wide, and they feared that Earth wouldn't be a very safe place for a long time if that happened. And what if they were discovered, would Earth retaliate? They'd been adamant about no further contact in their last transmission.

Rodney thought for a moment, and everyone knew he was communing with Atlantis. Quantum entanglement was tricky, to say the least. And Earth was a long way to send what amounted to a copy of yourself, but really it was yourself-split-into-two. That could be not just tricky but dangerous to one or both halves. And what if one half got lost, or injured, or "killed"?

Rodney sighed and smiled. "Well, we need to practice here in Pegasus first, try longer and longer distances, then go to somewhere we know well on Earth, or maybe their Alpha site, somewhere where we're not likely to be spotted and is well known to the person that will be splitting. We don't want "them" to think that we're ghosts or something either. Atlantis is positive that if one half got "lost" it will rejoin the rest of their body since it isn't the half that's ranging around. It'll be firmly anchored, so to speak, on Atlantis or wherever the first half is waiting. But it would be great if we could actually go somewhere and make contact with someone that we can tell what's going on out here."

Elizabeth and Sheppard had the same idea. They grinned when their eyes met. "O'Neill."

Ronon grinned and added with a smirk and a deep rumble that reminded everyone of Teal'c. "Indeed."

McKay rubbed his hands together. "Or Sam Carter. Oh, are we going to make some trouble."

Teyla asked wistfully, "Then not to families?"

All the smiles disappeared. Elizabeth nodded slowly but determinedly. "Yes. But not at first. We don't want to force Declassification. It would cause upheaval and cause danger to our families. But maybe we can find a way to pressure the SGC to read-in our families."

Sheppard sighed. "Well, I think the SGC could be a first good choice, or maybe O'Neill's home. Is anyone really familiar with his house? I'd hate to think someone could get lost and not find his way there or back."

"HIS way back?"

Sheppard nodded.

"You mean you, right?" asked Elizabeth.

"I may not know his home very well but I know the SGC and I have been to his house."

Elizabeth had doubts. "I'm not sure about the SGC. I was in charge there for a short time. You may have some idea of the amount of monitoring equipment they have, but they were always working on more. And I'm sure I wasn't told about everything. You know that O'Neill said they'd fight us the same as they would Replicators, and they destroyed them with the weapon on Dakara. I'd hate to have something like those weapons used against someone with nanites in them. I don't think we can chance Cheyenne Mountain. We could set off World War III especially if NORAD became involved somehow."

McKay snapped his fingers. "His rooftop. He has a telescope there and he almost never has visitors except his team, and hopefully won't be armed."

Sheppard winced. "Can you shoot someone that's in two places at once?"

"Huh? I don't know? I know a way to find out! You can shoot me..."

Sheppard interrupted dryly. "Been there. Done that. Twice*."

"No, no, no. I mean try to shoot the Wraith bio-shield. It should protect me."

"Should? Maybe I'll just shoot you in the ass again."

"Thanks, but once was enough! I'll check with Atlantis. But with the nanites for repair duties I should be okay anyway."

Well, it turned that Atlantis warned them not to try shooting each other in their split forms, because "she" wasn't sure what would happen. The nanites in someone's body would also be halved, and if the aggressor shot someone that was split in two in some area of the body other than the small Wraith shield that a whole or even half a body could both produce, the damage could still be great... or not. She wasn't sure. She thought it just might knock the damaged half back to the other-half and the whole person's nanites would take care of the problem. Probably. It was good that they understood fractions because it was getting confusing. So avoiding attack was considered a very good thing by Atlantis.

But Rodney only looked frustrated, then snapped his fingers and pointed at Sheppard. "Darts."

"Darts? Wraith darts?"

"Nonono. Just try to hit me with a dart-dart. It shouldn't hurt... too much. Are you a good shot with a dart?"

"You check with Atlantis first. Then you can shoot me this time."

"Uh-uh. I'm a terrible shot with darts."

Elizabeth sighed. "I think he's probably got you on that point, John."

Ronon was tapping his fingers pensively. "Has Atlantis ever talked to any of you about a full-body shield? I asked the Wiki once but she never answered definitely. At least not definitely enough that I'd risk someone's life with it. The Alterans used tech shields not nanites."

Rodney's eyes lit up. "Like the personal shield but with nanites?"

"Yeah, but I don't know if it'll work in the quantum phase thing you do."

Rodney grinned. "I like that. Quantum Phase. Good enough name for you Sheppard?"

"If it works, it's good."

Rodney looked surprised and a little outraged. "You let Ronon name something?"

"Got a better one?"

"Uh. Um. No, I guess not."

"Don't look like you just lost a Nobel."

Rodney really looked distressed now as he realized he would never win a Nobel Prize now.

Sheppard clapped him on the shoulder. "Don't look so down. If the committee knew about everything that you do out here, they'd all have to admit to being drooling idiots compared to you. You'd have ALL the Nobels."

Rodney started to smirk. "Drooling idiots?"

"Compared to you. Absolutely. If we had our own committee to give prizes you'd probably win every one."

Rodney tried not to look too smug. "Well, maybe not all." He looked around at the others trying to smother their laughter. He glared half-heartedly. "You're all going to regret that."

Laughter reigned for several minutes until even Rodney joined in.

…

It turned out that the full body armor would work, but only on a "whole" Atlantian because it took a lot of nanites to produce. But it was good to know. It seemed that the usually taciturn Ronon asked good questions.

But Teyla still pushed for reuniting families.

McKay said hopefully, "It would be great if maybe we could get some family or gene carriers to come here. Maybe not many, but any would be a help. In fact, if any family members are already in-the-know I think it would be safe to contact them as long as we can "speak" to them alone since we'll be in phase form. Probably at their home since it's a place a family member would be familiar with, and could find easily."

Elizabeth interrupted. "Wait a minute. If one half can go traipsing across galaxies, if they find what they want, can the anchored half join him there? Like what our people wanted in the first place... to be able to actually visit their families?"

McKay's face showed total shock. "I'm an idiot! You get the first Nobel! Teleportation! Quantum Phasing can become teleportation! I should have thought of that. Zelenka, why didn't "you" think of that?"

"Huh. You have me too busy to think of things like this. I am working on making ZPMs. Too busy to... do you think it is really possible?"

"YES. Elizabeth's a genius!"

"Well, she is a Doctor, too."

"Well, yeah, but politics, negotiation. That's not science!"

Elizabeth looked irritated. "I'd like to see you work out a treaty between two or more belligerent parties, Rodney, especially when their peoples have been fighting for centuries and everybody has nuclear weapons."

Rodney managed to look a tad contrite. "Um, sorry? It's always better if I keep my mouth shut at times like that. Or else I get poked in the ribs or kicked in the shin under the table."

Elizabeth hid a grin because she had no doubt who was the weak link on their first contact team, but she'd happily give him a Nobel for every time he'd brought his team home because of one of his genius solutions.

Sheppard had a depressing thought. "Teleportation would not be my first choice. In whole form you can get shot, or taken prisoner, though you might be able to escape that way. But the SGC has gadgets we've probably never seen and I wouldn't want even a Tok'ra weapon, aimed at me. But then, if the full body nanite armor works like it ought, maybe it'll be possible, but I'd still worry about them creating a portable Replicator weapon*. At least with half of you anchored somewhere else you'd have a chance of getting back."

Elizabeth asked Rodney. "Do ask Atlantis about the possibility of teleportation at least, so we can have that in our bag of tricks. But probably phasing would be a better solution, at least at first. I'd rather not give them a solid target."

…

The mission to reach Earth through Quantum Phasing was planned and re-planned. Then they went back to Plan A, or was it B? Anyway they decided General O'Neill would be the best choice although Rodney argued for Colonel Carter right up to the end just because explaining Quantum Phasing to O'Neill would be exhausting, frustrating, futile, and it was imperative that the one explaining it had to understand it first, and John wouldn't let Rodney go.

But John was familiar with O'Neill's home and knew he was mostly alone at night, often on the rooftop with his telescope. They didn't want to get him into trouble and be accused of being compromised and then "quarantined" which might be even more drastic than what had happened to themselves. O'Neill wasn't the most senior General, and he would still have to answer to the President, but they might never let him near another human being again.

It was planned to be a quick visit, just to "test the waters", so to speak. If O'Neill went crazy on John, tried to shoot him or something, they'd have to rethink the plan even though shooting wouldn't harm him, he'd shot Rodney with a dart and then progressively more damaging weapons and he was fine. Too fine. Gleeful would express it better, like when he'd worn that cursed personal shield he'd found on their first days in Atlantis. But not like when John had been affected by the Wraith mind manipulator* and had shot his whole team. Rodney still held a grudge about that, though Teyla and Ronon had forgiven him immediately. Or so they said.

So the team gathered in the conference room at the chosen time.

John looked a little uneasy.

Then Rodney looked a little worried. "You're sure you can find Earth? And you know where O'Neill's house is, right? You know you're not so great at navigation as you think you are."

John looked disgusted now. "I know where Earth is. I practiced, remember. The moon was dull, but the view of Earth was worth it and the vacuum didn't bother me at all because the half on Atlantis could breathe fine. And I can navigate just fine. I'm a pilot after all. You're the one that still can't fly in a straight line. Do you want to end up in Andromeda Galaxy or worse? Don't worry. I got Colorado all scoped out. Cheyenne Mountain... can't miss it. O'Neill's house isn't that far. I just need to spot his roof with the telescope. It'll be easy."

Teyla and Ronon shared a less than confident look.

John sighed. "Look. If I get lost I can always find my other half. Okay?"

Elizabeth, as well as the others looked mollified. No one yet had lost their anchoring half, so the plan was set in motion, and John faded to half his former self. On Atlantis he had closed his eyes to concentrate and found the trip almost as fast as through the Gate. He found himself neatly settling behind O'Neill on the rooftop.

He made a little "clearing his throat" noise that got O'Neill's attention and a 9mm aimed at John's chest.

"Whoa. You come up here armed?"

"Sheppard? You don't think you're the first one to try to surprise me up here are you? How the hell... Why can I see through you? Never mind. You're under arrest. I "told" you bad things would happen if you came to Earth, but would you listen? Evidently NOT."

John grinned and raised his hands. "Can't shoot me. I'm not... well, I'm only half here... therefore the reason you can see through me."

O'Neill lowered his gun. He didn't seem to want to shoot John anyway. "I could still try."

"And wake up the neighborhood, and get the cops called, and have to answer lots of questions about firing your weapon. Soooo, not a good way to spend the night."

O'Neill leaned back but kept the gun. "You got me on that. Why are you here? HOW are you here... half here?"

This was the part Rodney had warned him about.

"You know anything about Quantum Entanglement?"

O'Neill looked ostentatiously at his watch. "It's zero hundred thirty hours* and you want to talk about Quantum Entanglement? Who do you think I am, Sam Carter?"

"Well, she could probably explain it better. Or I could get McKay to visit..."

"No. No way. I'll ask Carter."

"Ah, come on. Rodney would love to explain Einstein's "spooky action at a distance" comment. Or, better yet, Schrödinger's dead/alive cat which Rodney thinks was a terrible thing to even imagine. And Carter might not have all the answers since she hasn't had Atlantis' explanation of it all to move things along."

O'Neill rubbed his forehead hard. "No. Just no. Just tell me why you're here."

John made a split second decision and upped the ante, so to speak. "We want our families and any other ATA gene carriers that want to come to Atlantis." He figured, why not come in high. He could bargain down later. "And Atlantis wants access to the outpost in Antarctica."

"Are you crazy?"

John didn't smirk. Didn't smile. He was suddenly deadly serious. This was the poker hand to beat all poker hands. "That's it."

O'Neill just sat with his mouth open for a long moment. He shook his head rapidly and muttered. "I must have got some bad beer. This can't be real." Then he got up and walked downstairs like half-John wasn't even there.

John sighed and met him at the kitchen counter. "That's the deal, Jack. You sent us there, abandoned us, now we want contact with our own. Atlantis wants her descendants." And John added quickly, "And access to her outpost."

Jack looked askance at John while he retrieved another beer. The "faded thing" was a lot more obvious down here in the light. He opened the beer, almost drank, but stopped to sniff it first. He shrugged and drank half in a long gulp. "You know that's not going to happen. See there's this little thing called Declassification, and it HASN'T HAPPENED YET. And remember the Ori? We just might need that outpost to, oh I don't know, SAVE EARTH."

"It doesn't have to force Declassification, you know that. That's what confidentiality agreements are for. You tell our families, then they can come or not."

"You think they'll WANT to come? Stargates? Another Galaxy? Remember Wraith? Remember a bossy Atlantis that wants an outpost back that we desperately need? And how are those nanites working out for ya'?"

John grinned. "Good point! They're working out great! See me? I can be in two places at once. It takes a little practice, but, hey! And they repair injuries, and now they've worked out a way to form little shields to keep us from being fed on by Wraith." Didn't need-to-know about the full body armor they could produce but only when they were whole, not when they were split, like John was now. Or the ATA gene and mild telepathy. That would probably come out eventually, especially if they got to talk to their families and tried to convince them to emigrate.

O'Neill looked nonplussed. "Huh. Great little upgrades. Are you still human, though?"

John's grin faded a little. "In all the ways that count. Yeah. We're not Alterans, if you're wondering. Or Replicators."

"You're really serious. You KNOW they'll say no. You know they'll throw me in a cell and throw away the key just for telling them you were even here, don't you?"

John grimaced. "Yeah. We kind of hoped you'd have an idea about that. We thought about just going to the SGC itself, but we thought we'd try a dry run with you."

"Thanks. Thanks so much!"

Now John grinned wider. "Well, you're welcome General, Sir." And snapped off a ridiculously precise salute. "You were our first choice, well, except for McKay. I bet you can guess his first choice."

"Sheppard?"

"Yeah?"

"Anyone ever tell you you're a pain-in-the-ass?"

John laughed outright. "Yeah, once or... I forget."

O'Neill sat at the table. "I just can't see it happening, Sheppard."

"I know. But we have a bribe. Ya' wanna hear it?"

O'Neill sighed with his eyes closed. He leaned his head on one fist and then gestured "come on, give" with the other.

"ZPMs."

O'Neill opened his eyes and got real still. "You found them?"

"We made them. After we stole the one the Dagan people hid on us. Energy-wise that helped us a lot."

O'Neill grumped. "Well, why the hell didn't you start with that. Bribes can be good."

John leaned on the table and started to go through which made O'Neill sit back suddenly. John, too.

"Sorry. Forgot I was only half here. I haven't practiced that." John grinned and gave a little wave. "Thanks for the advice. See ya' later." And he disappeared, leaving O'Neill to look at his beer like it was poison.

"Advice? What advice?" Then he got up and poured the rest of his beer down the drain.

...

Sheppard returned to Atlantis with a couple of questions he had to answer for himself. McKay hadn't even mentioned it, and neither had anyone else, but they hadn't seen McKay's other half show up with a ZPM in his hand. But first he walked to the conference table without even joining his other half. He looked at the others that had been waiting for him. "Just give me a second. I have to try something." He reached out his faded hand and tried to place it on the conference room table. His hand went right through like it had O'Neill's kitchen table. "Damn. Let me try this again. Just wait. I'll explain. Rodney could hold the ZPM, so I should be able to do this, too. I _have_ to be able to do this." He concentrated on just his hand while imploring Atlantis with his mind. /I have to be able to do this. I'm half way there. I have to be able to... touch.../ He grinned as the slightly more solid hand touched the table and then he leaned into it. Still solid. Then he concentrated harder, holding tightly to the table like his life depended on it. It too, faded to half its visibility.

He looked around at Elizabeth, McKay, Lorne, Teyla, Ronon, Beckett, and Zelenka. "We can do it!" Then his halves rejoined and the table came back solid. And everyone ignored the items that had fallen through to the floor.

Zelenka looked astonished. "You can make yourself more solid? I have to try it!" And he did. "Why is this so important? What can we do with this?"

"We can take O'Neill's advice."

Elizabeth, and everyone else, looked overjoyed. "You got there? You talked to him? He was okay with... everything?"

"Yes... Yes... Not at all... But he said something that may make it work."

McKay interrupted. "Well, what's the plan?" Then he got a faraway look in his eyes and turned to Lorne. "Oh. My. God. Why didn't I think of this before? Get Parish and Katie up here. We can send them for coffee!"

John snorted. "I hope you're not sending them to Starbucks™."

McKay snorted back. "You're thinking small, Sheppard. I want plants. Coffee plants, and anything else we need. Elizabeth, you must have a list."

Elizabeth started laughing and the others joined in. This was going to be life-changing for them as long as they were careful. Being able to disappear if caught would be very useful but they didn't want to alarm certain groups on Earth with major unexplained pilferage.

And what they could do on Earth they could do in Pegasus, like drop little bombs in very sensitive places on hive ships. That idea got around quickly and a major celebration, think inebriated party, quickly was in full swing.

…

Lorne arrived with the scouting information. It was odd, leaving him a little homesick, hanging around in the shadows near Cheyenne Mountain, a place he knew well. But that's why he had been chosen. He had to make sure that O'Neill, Carter, and Landry were all in the mountain. Best of all, he hadn't set off one alarm.

McKay had arrived in Atlantis' conference room with the two small weapon-proof cases that Sheppard had requested, just in case they got trigger happy before O'Neill could calm things down. Now it was up to John to "deliver the goods".

"Atlantis. Dial the Gate on Earth." This wasn't necessary, but they wanted to prove a point. That Earth "couldn't" keep them out if they refused to cooperate with Atlantis, which probably O'Neill hadn't conveyed to them. At least there'd been no communication from Earth, and their ships had kept to their schedules, so no one was on their way to "bother" Atlantis because of John's illegal visitation.

The Gate dialed. Their IDC was sent. The Earth iris closed as their contact was denied, at least Atlantis told them that much.

John turned to the others. "Wish me luck." This situation reminded Sheppard of Lya, and how he'd learned she'd just walked through the Earth Gate and the Iris, and for some reason the thought of visiting the Nox someday made him relax.

McKay asked, "Are you sure you don't want company?"

"Nah. I can handle this." He picked up the two weighty cases, which he phased along with himself, and stepped through the Gate, and Earth's iris, with himself and his cases in Quantum Phase form.

When he saw the other side he couldn't help being a bit worried, but smirked up at O'Neill anyway as alarms blared and Marines leveled their rifles. O'Neill ordered Walter to shut down the alarms.

"Sheppard. You had to do it. What did I tell you about coming to Earth?"

He grinned widely. "I had some good advice so I thought I'd follow through." He pulled the other half of the cases into full visibility by phasing in their other halves and placed them on the ramp. "First... the bribe." He pulled a folder from his jacket and placed it between the cases where it took solid form, too. "And our conditions."

Landry's grimace matched his complexion, both of which made you worry about his continued good health. "You put your hands up, Sheppard. You are under arrest and will be detained, probably for the rest of your life. Guards, take him into custody."

The guards looked confused, and John clasped his hands behind his faded form. "That's kind of what I expected. That's why these cases are shielded and bullet-proof. And, ah, you "can" kind of see through me can't you? I'm using a kind of Quantum Entanglement. I'm in two places at once. You can shoot but it will just go through and I'll eventually just return this half to Atlantis. And if you manage to injure someone in Quantum Phase, they can just return to their other half and let the nanites fix whatever. But, threats or not, the bribe and conditions still stand. We decided to give you a few days to make your decision."

He started to turn to the Gate as if he was going to leave, but turned back. "The bribe... in the cases? They're something you'll appreciate, and someday, you may need them. That's the only reason they're protected. We didn't want anyone to get hurt if you tried some weird device to try to find out what's inside. All they need to open them are an ATA gene. General O'Neill? They're all yours, no matter what you decide, but there are more where those came from, Sir." Then he didn't even bother to go through the iris, he just faded back to Atlantis, to Landry's complete, and utter, consternation.

…

A few days later, Chuck announced, "Unscheduled off world activation."

The command staff and their seconds hurriedly gathered. None had gone off world or even strayed far from the Gate as they waited for a response and hoped that their plan had worked.

Elizabeth ordered, "Close the Iris."

McKay was leaning over Chuck's shoulder. "Message incoming. Not a databurst, though." He glanced around. "I think they want to talk."

John nodded. "Good."

General O'Neill appeared on the overhead screen with Carter and Landry on either side. Jack looked a little embarrassed. "Well, that bribe was a good touch. Whoever came up with that must be a genius or something."

John grinned. "I always thought he was brighter than he let on."

Carter hid her smirk behind her hand, but smiled when she spoke. "I tried to explain Einstein's and Schrödinger's thoughts on Quantum Entanglement, but some things they just decided to take my word for. That was a pretty neat trick."

John shrugged. "Well, we have Atlantis, and nanites and stuff."

Landry looked like he'd rather be anywhere else but there at the moment but he finally took a step toward the screen. "I have been instructed to pass on a short message. The President and the members of the "former" IOA, wish to say they find your "bribe" acceptable."

John pressed. "Just acceptable?"

"Actually, it was more like, "thank you". They... you know very well that you might have just saved Earth at some future date. Two full ZPMs is a tremendous gift. They were... very pleased." Landry looked like he'd bitten into something sour.

John felt embarrassed now. "Well, we had them laying around, and we knew you could find a use for them..." But then he grimaced as he added, "Even though you did abandon us. Now, what about the conditions we left. We're not asking for you to ever contact us in person again, but we do want access to "our" people. Atlantis' people, too, and access to the outpost though it will still be under your command."

O'Neill didn't look too happy. "The President and IOA are willing, up to a point. They don't want to risk the information reaching the public, but they'll search for ATAs and contact your families. If they're cooperative about the confidentiality agreements, then they'll be told, and you can then contact them, here on the base, and they'll have the choice to leave or not. That's in their hands, not ours, so don't blame us if they decide to stay."

John nodded his head slowly. "That sounds reasonable, but you do realize that we can contact them ourselves if we feel we're being stonewalled." He smirked. "You know we can do that "spooky actions at a distance" thing. Our families might think they're going crazy since you probably told them we're all dead, but we'll take our chances if we have to approach them ourselves."

"Conditions? Or threats, Sheppard?" Landry snapped.

"We just want our people, General Landry. Wouldn't you?" John asked seriously.

Elizabeth interrupted. "Generals, we have a short databurst to send you. Will you accept it? You can record it on a separate database, so you know the SGC will remain secure."

The Generals looked at Carter.

Sam nodded acquiescence and sat beside Walter. After a few flips of switches she said she was ready. It only took moments.

O'Neill asked, "Short message. News from home?"

McKay looked a little miffed. "Everyone agreed we had plenty of back pay to take care of things."

"Things? What kind of things?"

McKay glanced around at the others guiltily. "Well, we kind of pilfered some things here and there. We even gave the Dagans back a new ZPM to replace the one we needed so badly. But, ah, we were desperately low on coffee and a few other things so we kind of stole some coffee plants, and stuff. And everyone figured those people should be reimbursed."

McKay looked disgruntled, and he shuddered. "Coffee withdrawal is not a joke, and you haven't had to drink Athosian morning tea." For which he got an elbow to the ribs from Teyla who just looked totally innocent.

There was stifled laughter from a few people on the Atlantis side of the Gate.

Landry looked uptight. "Just how long have you been infiltrating Earth? You were warned to stay away or there would be repercussions. The President and IOA may have a change of heart after they hear you've been coming here, at will, against their expressed orders!"

O'Neill looked totally disgusted with Landry. "Look, they disobeyed orders, after we said they were on their own. But they've admitted they only took what they needed. And they're willing to pay for it. And don't forget the TWO ZPMs. If they really meant us harm do you think they'd do all that?"

Landry looked at O'Neill now with distrust. "Why are you so forgiving? Are you on their side? You have an ATA gene, too. Maybe you're not as loyal to Earth now as you used to be. Maybe you've been compromised, too!"

O'Neill turned to the screen. "Am I compromised?"

John answered firmly. "No, Sir. You are not. Not even on Atlantis has anyone had nanites inserted permanently in their bodies without their permission. Atlantis insisted no one was to be forced. It was the fact that my whole team would have died that she decided she had to take action. If we had later refused her intervention, then we would have died."

O'Neill managed not to show too much relief. He had an honest revulsion of being a host to anything. "General Landry, I can offer no guarantees. In fact no person on this Earth or in Pegasus can offer guarantees. But that's the only confirmation that we can get. We trust them, or not. It's up to you."

Landry's furious glare turned aside as he seriously considered O'Neill's statement. He finally seemed to accept some hard truths. There was no way to stop them. No way to detect them, since Sheppard had walked right into and through the Gate and no alien-alert had sounded. They had been trustworthy, before this whole incident. O'Neill, even Carter, seemed accepting of their statements. And there were the ZPMs, which were given... with conditions, but he could understand those himself if he had been in their place. Well, since they could seemingly come and go at will, there was really no stopping them anyway.

Landry still looked glum. "I guess we really have no choice."

Sheppard sighed. "We had no choice either, General. Atlantis gave us back our lives, and Earth took away any other choices. We had to make our own options. Again, we really had little choice. We need our families to at least know we're alive and well. We'd like anyone with the ATA, or our families if they choose, to join us. We're very few against a very deadly enemy, and we'd really like to keep them away from Earth. You can contact us through the outpost in Antarctica or the Gate at the SGC if you so choose, or not. That's up to you. If someone wishes to join us you can designate a planet where we can meet them for transport. I'm sorry that you consider our visits to be attempts at infiltration, but in all honesty, we didn't communicate with anyone else. We didn't want our visits known at the time. There were simply some things we desperately needed for our Earth equipment and fabricating them would take more time and resources than we could spare." John allowed a faint smile. "And I'll admit there were a few "luxury" items we could have lived without."

O'Neill looked more concerned now than he had on his rooftop. "Are you alright, Sheppard, out there? We really are grateful for the ZPMs."

"We're doing better, Sir. I appreciate your concern."

O'Neill looked down at the printout that Carter had started of their message. "We'll see what we can do. Just how long is this list of what you stole?"

Sheppard replied quickly. "Not stole. We're paying for the stuff we needed." He glanced at Rodney quickly, then back to the screen of the SGC. He finally grinned. "Perhaps you can understand that there were some things we really "needed". For many of us, coffee is not considered a luxury item."

Sam finally burst out laughing.

End

**A/N3:** I don't think Atlantis-Wiki was my idea, but what I could find on Google didn't jog any memory cells, at least the ones I still have.

wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger%27s_cat

Schrödinger's cat is a thought experiment, sometimes described as a paradox, devised by Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger in 1935. It illustrates what he saw as the problem of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics applied to everyday objects. The scenario presents a hypothetical cat that may be simultaneously both alive and dead, a state known as a quantum superposition, as a result of being linked to a random subatomic event that may or may not occur.

The thought experiment is also often featured in theoretical discussions of the interpretations of quantum mechanics. Schrödinger coined the term Verschränkung (entanglement) in the course of developing the thought experiment.

wiki/Quantum_entanglement

Einstein and others considered such behavior to be impossible, as it violated the local realism view of causality (Einstein referring to it as "spooky action at a distance") and argued that the accepted formulation of quantum mechanics must therefore be incomplete.

2019/07/13/the-morning-after/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9uZXdzLmdvb2dsZS5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAIL9_rfr29TZLkX14WwzVWRzAwSJdr5d9rlp4L1mCHZxzT2SHNs7VihDAcobZ8jDBUhZgwEf0UWMVQEqdJvK-IgYhDBPYAt-Uv6EOLMip39iVuAg2lWEJNWZmKEsk36aMSONfr8q3ded_Rr03uy5szVUpCCCHU9e8kYYM-xhK8Yu

Quantum Entanglement

Two particles will appear to be linked across space and time, with changes to one of the particles (such as an observation or measurement) affecting the other one.

In a paper published in the journal of _Scientific Advances_, scientists from the University of Glasglow shared the first known image of a Bell entanglement. The photo depicts two photons interacting and sharing physical states for a brief instant - an event that occurs regardless of the actual distance between the particles.

archiveofourown

works/16858054

Wraith feeding-hand shield prototype from my story: For Want of a GDO.

.mil/About-NORAD/Cheyenne-Mountain-Air-Force-Station/

NORAD: NORAD's focus and facilities have both evolved to meet the asymmetric threats of the 21st century. On July 28, 2006, the Cheyenne Mountain Directorate was re-designated as the Cheyenne Mountain Division, with the mission to assist in establishing an integrated NORAD and USNORTHCOM Command Center within the headquarters building at Peterson Air Force Base.

Today, the Cheyenne Mountain Complex serves as NORAD and USNORTHCOM's Alternate Command Center and as a training site for crew qualification. Day-to-day crew operations for NORAD and USNORTHCOM typically take place at Peterson Air Force Base.

wiki/Phantoms

**"Phantoms" **is the ninth episode of the third season of _Stargate:__Atlantis_. Lt. Colonel John Sheppard's team travels to M1B-129 to retrieve a missing team, but come across a Wraith Mind manipulator, making the team see things that aren't there.

Dr. Rodney McKay : You shot me!

Lt. Colonel John Sheppard : Yes, Rodney, I shot you, and I said I was sorry. I'm sorry for shooting everyone!

.cc/topic/pronouncing-military-time

0030 - zero hundred thirty hours

wiki/Replicators

The Replicators entered our galaxy and attacked the Goa'uld empire, crippling it. But SG-1 discovered an Ancient weapon on the planet Dakara, which they used to destroy all surviving Replicators throughout the Milky Way Galaxy. It was believed that the threat was gone once and for all until John Sheppard and the team from Earth's expedition to Atlantis met a massive, 10,000-year-old civilization of Replicators living in the Pegasus Galaxy. These are the original Replicators, the creation of the Ancients during their war with the Wraith.


End file.
